In the Eye of the Storm
by simplepen
Summary: The etrio is entering their last year in Hogwarts and are submitted to drastic changes. With the war looming close, Hermione finds love and comfort in the enemy, whose past holds the key to the future, and Harry and Ron discover their own path in love. R


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Hi, I'm new to fanfic. so please be kind! :)

**Sadly, I don't own any of the characters. They belong to J.K. Rowling. There might be a few made-up characters that belong to me. Read and Review plz!**

**also, _italics_ means a person's thoughts**

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Draco's eyelids appeared to be glued to his eyes and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't open them. As carefully as he could, Draco lifted his left hand to touch his throbbing head, but the moment his finger touched his temple, rackets of pain shot through his arm and continued into his already hurting head.

_I should be used to this by now._ Draco smirked weakly. This was not the first time his father had used the Crucio curse on him. Draco's father Lucius was a Death Eater and loved nothing and nobody except the Dark Lord; it was no secret that he and his mother meant nothing to him.

Narcissa Malfoy was a woman of pride and status. She had white blond hair and clear blue eyes; a straight Roman nose and a beautiful figure. Even at the age of 40, Narcissa was a woman who could take any man's breath away. Many thought that Lucius took Narscissa as a trophy bride, Draco included, but nobody dared to speak a word. Even though Narcissa seemed to be a cold and unemotional person, she loved her son deeply and took many beatings and curses to protect Draco from his father's harm.

The thought of his mother now sent tears swarming in Draco's eyes. Just today, she had taken 2 Crucio curses and one extreme beating. He had no idea if she was alright. Draco dropped his arm and ignored the stabbing pain that coursed through his body when his arm hit the bed. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, just holding onto the thought that in 2 days, he would be back at Hogwarts, farther away from his father's grasp.

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Hermione Granger sat stiffly in the chair and dared not to move her head. She was in a hair salon, getting her haircut. Hermione concentrated on trying not to think that she has been sitting in that same chair, in the exact same position for the past hour. _This better be worth it_

"'Mione, darling are you ok?" Cecilia Granger asked her daughter, who looked like she was frozen in that position.

Hermione managed a smile. "I'm alright mum."

The hair dresser grunted and mumbled, "Hold still there young lady, we're almost through."

So, the Grangers sat for another hour in that hair salon, waiting for Hermione's hair to be done.

Finally, the hairdresser lowered Hermione's chair. "You're done. That's a total of 210."

Hermione looked at her reflection as her parents paid the bill. The change was extraordinary! Instead of her bushy, unruly hair, it was sleek and smooth with soft curls tumbling past her shoulders. She laughed at herself for experimenting with all those spells for the past few years, trying to tame those curls, when all they needed were a pair of scissors and a crafty pair of hands.

As Hermione stepped out of the salon, the bright sun shone down on her.

"Honey you look wonderful!" Henry Granger gushed. Anyone could see that he was a man who was proud of his daughter.

In a matter of minutes, the silver BMW pulled up on the driveway of a beautiful, 2 story brick house.

Right away, Hermione ran up to her room and found 3 owls on her windowsill. One was a snowy white owl, Hedwig-Harry's owl. Another was a brown and rugged looking owl, Errol-the Weasley's owl, and the last owl was old and was a misty gray color. Hermione guessed it was one of Dumbledore's owls.

Hermione grabbed a few owl treats from her shelf and tossed it at each of the three owls. Then, she picked up the letters.

The first one was Harry's. Hermione recognized the scrawny, tight letters.

Hi Mione,  
How was your summer? I'm at Ron's. It's so nice of them to have me over every summer. We're looking forward to seeing you at Diagon Ally tomorrow.  
Sincerely,  
Harry

P.S. Ignore the brown spots on the paper, this was the only parchment Ron had left and he spilled some food on it.

Hermione laughed and went to her trunk. She got out some pieces of parchment and wrote a reply.

Hi Harry!  
I'm so glad you wrote, my summer has been great. What about yours? How are your aunt and uncle? I hope they didn't make you too miserable. Are you sure it's safe to be at Ron's? I'm not saying your house is dangerous Ron; so don't get angry with me. I'm just saying, with Voldemort arising, shouldn't you stay in the protection of your aunt and uncle's house?  
Sincerely,  
Hermione

She tied the letter to Hedwig's feet and she hooted and flew off.

The second letter was obviously Ron's. The writing was barely readable, but Hermione was use to it and managed to make out the words.

Hello Hermione,  
Harry is over! I'm glad mum loves him, or else I'd be stuck with the twins and Ginny all summer. I can't wait to see you!  
Ron

Hermione quickly wrote a reply and Errol carried it back to Ron.

The third letter was from Hogwarts. Hermione shuffled through the list of supplies needed for their 6th year and was surprised to find another letter- another letter congratulating Hermione on becoming Head Girl!

Hermione let out a high shriek and stared at the badge that was at the bottom of the package.

Henry and Cecilia who heard the shriek from downstairs rushed to their daughter's room.

"Mum! Daddy! Look!" Hermione was ecstatic. "I'm Head Girl!"

"This calls for a celebration!" Henry called out, and directed his wife and daughter to the car again. "We're going out for dinner!"

Hermione laughed. She couldn't believe it! _I wonder if Harry or Ron made Head Boy!_

**The computer refused to let me put a line break here so I am reduced to this. Sorry!**

A warm hand touched Draco's forehead and he forced his eyes open.

"Mother." Draco managed to say, but Narcissa put a finger to her lips, signalling him to be quiet.

Draco stared at his mother in wonder. He was so relieved that she was ok. Narcissa was such a strong woman; she would take on anything for the ones she loved.

"There's something I want to show you." Narcissa gently helped his son out of bed. Her heart broke to see her only son in so much pain.

Draco followed his mother quietly out of his room and down the long dark hallway to her bedroom.

Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Malfoy slept in separate rooms. Their marriage had already been destroyed years ago, but Narcissa stayed in the manor because she wanted to watch her son grow up.

As they entered the room, Narcissa went straight to the vault where she kept some of the most valuable things she had.

Draco looked at his reflection in the mirror. His face was paler than usual and there was dried blood caked in his hair. Considering the fact that Lucius decided to go easy on him today, Draco looked rather grotesque. One's body can only take on so much.

"Draco, this pendant brought me safety when I needed it the most. I was going to give it to you before the big war, but I think you should take it now."

Draco looked at the pendant his mother was holding and was speechless. The chain was made of silver along with the pendant which had a dragon engraved on it that was outlined in gold. However, what Draco found most entrancing about the pendant were the dragon's eyes made of emeralds.

"Mother, this is beautiful." Draco touched the dragon and still couldn't believe his eyes.

Narcissa took the necklace from Draco's hands and put it around his neck. "This necklace is special Draco." Narcissa touched the chain gently.

"It's a family heirloom. My mother gave it to me when I married Lucius. It was like she knew I would need the protection." Narcissa grabbed Draco's shoulders harder than intended.

"Don't take this off. When you need protection the most, this necklace will provide you with it." Narcissa said. Suddenly, hearing heard footsteps coming up the stairs she quickly rushed Draco back to his room.

When Draco was back in his room, he took the necklace out from under his tattered shirt and looked at it carefully. It was in perfect condition. There was no dents and no chips anywhere. After studying it for quite some time, he finally decided to take a shower.

Draco stepped into the lavishly decorated bathroom and looked in the mirror. He really did look like a mess. If his "friends" saw him in this condition, they would laugh, but they didn't know anything about his life at home. The only reason why they followed him around and worshipped him was because of his father's status and money.

Draco ripped his shirt off. His upper torso was covered with welts and scars from beatings and curses. Draco slipped out of his pants and boxers and turned on the shower.

Letting the warm water run down his body not only washed away the blood and sweat, but his thoughts and pain as well. The welts and marks on his body burned and itched but Draco ignored them. He shook his platinum blond hair and the dried up blood ran down his face. He scrubbed it away and stepped out of the shower.

Draco wrapped himself in a dark green bathroom and went back to his room. Without even changing into his pyjamas, Draco drifted off into a deep slumber, one of the few places where he felt safe.

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Ok guys! I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to give me some feed back:)


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